Select Board appoints Stavillo to Planning Board, 6-1

Select Board · Meeting of September 2, 2026

Hampden Select Board appoints Gina Stavillo to a vacant Planning Board seat over fellow applicant Eric Ainsworth. In a joint vote with the Planning Board, Stavillo won 6-1; both candidates, a Hampden police officer on the Conservation Commission and a 20-year Ames Road resident, said they would run for the seat outright in next May's town election regardless of the outcome. The board separately authorized a no-cost grant application to MassDEP worth more than $400,000 to study PFAS filtration for a town well, and learned the Water Commission is down to a single active member after Commissioner Dale Hatch's sudden death and Commissioner Paul Garwacki's resignation.

Members also approved hiring three new Zoom meeting operators and granted the Scantic River Artisans a one-day liquor license for a September 17 wine-and-art program, calling the precedent "kind of a loaded one."

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,836 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of September 2, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.